Zionsville Matters- August/September 2021

e ll i v s on i Z

MATTERS A T OW N OF ZIONS V IL L E P UBL IC AT ION

THE MAGIC OF

MULBERRY FIELDS PARK

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20 21 AUGUST/ SEPTEMBER

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W MESSAGE

FROM THE MAYOR

hen I ran for office, I knew I wanted to celebrate the many ways our community thrives. There are truly epic people in our town who wake up every day and make our community stronger, who add to the general welfare of our town and who make it a great

TOWN HALL QUICK HITS

ZIONSVILLE

What You Need to Know This Month

WHAT’S NEW WITH ZPD? The Zionsville Police Department welcomes all to learn and ask questions at this open, friendly community discussion.

Join us 7pm Thurs Sept 9 at Town Hall

All are invited to join Chief Michael Spears, Mayor Emily Styron, Zionsville Police Department officers and staff and Town Council and commission members for a friendly police-community discussion. This will take place on Thursday, September 9 at 7 p.m. at Zionsville Town Hall.

The Zionsville Fire Department has started the strategic master plan process. The planning process will assist the ZFD in developing a five-year plan (2021-2026). You input is needed – please take our survey (takes approximately 8 minutes) by visiting www.zionsville-in.gov/zfdplan.

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place to live, learn, work and play.

Help me recognize these residents and share their stories through our new program, Good of the Town. Submit your nomination for residents who are advocates, volunteers, tireless workers, litter pick-uppers – those who go above and beyond. It’s truly a privilege to work for this town and I can’t wait to hear your stories!

Submit your nomination at www.zionsville-in.gov/good.

Mayor Emily Styron

Due to the Big-4 Rail Trail southern expansion and the installation of a new Starkey Avenue bridge connecting the Rail Trail to the future Overley-Worman Park, the southern portion of the trail will be closed this fall. This includes the parking lot and ramp from Starkey Park. A detailed schedule is forthcoming.

As summer winds down we want residents to know that the Town Hall outdoor plaza is a perfect gathering spot to meet with colleagues, have lunch with friends or take a break while visiting the Big-4 Rail Trail. Amenities include benches and tables, a bike repair station, an outdoor charging station, a Little Free Library and more.

Work with us! We have openings in the Finance and Records Department, Parks and Recreation Department, Planning and Economic Development Department and at the Zionsville Golf Course. Apply online at www.zionsville-in.gov/Jobs.

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Meet Your Neighbor:

Amanda Rubeck Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Submitted and A. Nadelson Photography

Have you met Amanda Rubeck at any of the town events? Rubeck was recently named Zionsville Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Emerging Professional of the Year. She is a member of the chamber’s Ambassador team, Zionsville Chamber Advocacy Committee and the RISE Foundation Board of Directors.

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ubeck lives in Zionsville with her husband of 13 years, Brent, and their two daughters, Caitlin and Madison, who are in the fifth and sixth grades at Zionsville Middle School and are avid soccer players.

Establishing Personal and Professional Roots in Zionsville

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STAR Bank Partnering With Zionsville Community Schools STAR Bank has partnered with Zionsville Community Schools to further support and grow education, arts and technology in the Zionsville community.

The STAR Bank branch that is located on the east side of Zionsville Community High School campus opened in August 2020 with the purpose of being an immersive learning branch.

Live, Work, Serve When asked about being named the chamber’s Emerging Professional of the Year this year, Rubeck said she was genuinely surprised.

“I was pleasantly surprised,” Rubeck emphasized. “My heart really is in Zionsville. My family lives here, and this is my community. I feel like you have to lead with heart and with passion.

You have to bring that into everything you do. While I was surprised that I won, I hope that I inspire other people to get out there and give back in some capacity. No matter what it is, go find your passion and give back. I have a motto that I have always lived by, ‘Live, work, serve.’ I have a component where I just wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t in service to others.”

If you would like more information about STAR Bank in Zionsville and about its immersive learning programs at the branch located in ZCHS, call Amanda Rubeck at (317) 566-7301 or email her at Amanda.rubeck@ starfinancial.com.

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Rubeck has been in the banking industry for over 19 years and joined the STAR Bank team two and a half years ago. For over 70 years, STAR Bank—a family-owned Indiana institution— has been a dedicated community partner and supports the communities in which its branches operate.

As a VP and senior retail sales officer, Rubeck has played a significant role in building the teams that operate within these communities. She is responsible for overseeing 10 branches in the Indianapolis area. When her husband took a job in Indianapolis, the Rubecks moved to Zionsville.

“It [coming to STAR] couldn’t have been more perfect,” Rubeck stated.

“It’s local, and it’s family-owned. STAR cares about the community, and they care about giving back. It was a solid fit for me.”

STAR, along with ZCS, is working to teach ZCS students on subjects related to financial literacy.

“I think what makes us [STAR] unique is that we care about giving back to the community,” Rubeck said. “It wasn’t just Zionsville’s first immersive learning branch [at ZCHS], it was the first in the state. I think concepts like this are game changers for the future.”

When asked why, specifically, Rubeck replied, “We hear parents say all the time that they want their kids to learn more about finances and the things that really help a student flourish after high school and after college.

We work closely with the school administration and with Dr. Robison and Tim East. We will launch an internship program this year in conjunction with the school corporation. We will have interns here in this branch learning alongside of us. We also have the opportunity to teach financial wellness and in the classrooms.”

2021-08-23 7:33 PM

Projects in Process

Progress on Zionsville’s Climate Action Plan Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Submitted

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ZIONSVILLE

he Town of Zionsville is pleased to report progress is being made in terms of its Climate Action Plan initiatives, thanks to the efforts of the mayor’s executive assistant, Carol Johnson, who is spearheading the town’s Climate Action Plan, along with Sarah Congress, the town’s 2021-2022 Climate Fellow. These efforts have led the Town of Zionsville to be nominated for the 2021 Aim Green Project Award.

community has embraced that [initiative] and has participated. I certainly see the buckets around my neighborhood as I drive around.”

As there are several strategies and initiatives related to the town’s Climate Action, the town was excited to bring in its Climate Fellow Sarah Congress to assist Johnson and the town with finding low-cost ways to implement the strategies outlined in the town’s climate action plan.

Meet the Town’s 2021 Climate Fellow Making Strides Since December 2020 As previously reported, the Town of Zionsville partnered with Earth Mama Compost—a local woman-owned business that provides fee-based curbside compost to residents. We spoke with Johnson about the progress that’s been made in terms of community participation in the community composting initiative.

“As of June 25 [2021], Earth Mama Compost has expanded to 244 customers in Zionsville,” Johnson stated. “They’ve had to add a second route, and in Zionsville alone, in just the first half of the year, they have collected 25,000 pounds. I’m really proud about that and excited to see the

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Congress is a Fishers, Indiana native, and she graduated from DePauw University in May of 2020 with a B.A. in biology and minors in computer science and Spanish. Sarah is entering her second year of grad school where she is getting a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and a Master of Science in environmental science (MSES) from the O’Neill School for Public and Environmental Affairs at IU Bloomington. Her concentration is in environmental systems and modeling.

Congress has been interacting with local community members to get valuable feedback on climate action plan strategies and other ideas they may have.

In addition to the Earth Mama Compost initiative, Johnson and Congress are working on a Town of Zionsville Fleet Analysis.

“I’ve been exploring the potential to start converting some of the [townowned] vehicles to electric vehicles (EV), and we are working on a survey for the community’s input on where they’d like to see public charging stations,” Congress said. “We want to make sure this is a community centered and oriented approach to what we’re doing.”

Congress did not have a total number of town-owned vehicles in the fleet available for this interview but was able to confirm that the town does not currently have any EVs or hybrids in its fleet.

When asked what some of the qualifiers for an ideal charging station are, Congress replied, “We’re thinking about proximities to dining, shopping and other local amenities that people utilize like the Rail Trail.”

Johnson added, “We’ve had some initial conversations with Duke Energy. They don’t serve all the areas that we’re talking about but some of them. We’re having them confirm if a potential site is actually viable to put a charging station in and what impact it might have on the power grid.”

When asked about the costs, Johnson said, “We have some ideas to help with the costs, but they are all very early ideas right now. Zionsville has absolutely zero charging stations, and we know that there are a lot of EVs here in Zionsville. We’d like to give those owners an option to charge their vehicles while they’re visiting Zionsville. Sarah is just about done with the fleet analysis that really captures the cost savings that the town can expect to see over the lifetime of a vehicle.”

Congress shared that there is a 48% difference in operating costs between a gas-powered vehicle and an EV. “The maintenance on EVs is significantly less, and once the [fleet] analysis is complete [late August], we will share it internally,” Congress stated. “We will have people who will be really excited to make that transition in the next year or two. It’s not only better for the environment, it’s better for the [town’s] bottom line, too.”

To view the Zionsville Climate Action Plan in its entirety, visit www.zionsville-in. gov/climateactionplan.

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One Year Into Zionsville’s Use of Force Review Board In June 2020 the Zionsville Police Department (ZPD) established the Use of Force Review Board. The board is tasked with reviewing any use of force actions taken by police officers to ensure compliance with department policies and applicable law and then submitting those findings to the chief of police along with recommendations for policy changes, training or other improvements.

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immune from the possibility of such confrontations. “While the board may not have many cases to review, it does have the time, opportunity and responsibility to continually review the work of the police department to better understand our successes and strengthen the actions we take to prevent the need for force,” said Chief Spears.

Besides its role in use of force incidents, the board has broadened responsibilities. The board meets monthly for about 90 minutes. They are involved in discussions of use of force incidents in other jurisdictions and other contemporary matters relative to police-community relationships. They participate in ride-alongs with Zionsville officers and are invited to participate in departmental training sessions.

In describing some of the work the board has done, Monisha said, “First, I need to acknowledge the work of Zionsville police officers and all who serve with honor. They are the ones doing the actual work every day. The Use of Force Board doesn’t just review uses of force, and it is not just for ‘show.’ We actively work with ZPD leadership to develop greater understanding of issues that contribute to excessive uses of force.

“As citizens, Kenny Johnson and I have been invited to ZPD trainings and to do a ride-along. We spend time outside of meeting reviewing policy, current events, relevant laws and precedent and strategic planning. We have had super hard conversations. We have

Lt. Drake Sterling

Sgt. Joshua Samuelson

Kenneth Johnson

disagreed. We have differences of opinion. We respect one another.”

In the long term, the Use of Force Board Monisha Mitchell will work to maintain the town’s low level of use of force incidents, provide the public with a professional and complete account of use of force incidents and continue to build trust and support from Zionsville citizens.

Use of Force Review Board + Zionsville Police Department –

Actions Taken:

1. Revised ZPD’s Use of Force policy and prohibition of choke holds.

2. Enhanced body camera operations (body camera footage always is reviewed when there is a specific issue and turns on when an officer responds to a call).

3. Reviewed incidents where officers could have used force justifiably and did not (this also provides opportunity for discussions about what officers did right).

4. Planned for increased community engagement, particularly with diverse community groups.

5. Started the strategic plan “Train, Engage, Accreditation, Metrics/Measurement” (TEAM).

ZIONSVILLE

rior to George Floyd’s death, Town of Zionsville leadership and Police Chief Michael Spears began reviewing policies to align them with a standard that is recognized across the country.

“We looked at all our policies and actions, knowing this was an opportunity for us to learn and grow both as an organization and alongside the community,” said Mayor Emily Styron.

Mayor Emily Styron and Chief Michael Spears worked with the Board of Police Commissioners to formally establish the Use of Force Board and its members. The board is comprised of three members of the ZPD—Capt.

Marius Klykken, Lt. Drake Sterling and Sgt. Joshua Samuelson—and two civilian members, Kenneth Johnson, appointed

by Mayor Emily Styron, and Monisha Mitchell, appointed by the Board of Police Commissioners.

It was important to Mayor Emily Styron and Chief Michael Spears that the board include two civilian members.

“The police department is not detached or separate from the community but instead a part of it,” said Chief Spears. “The department and its officers exist because the people of the town place trust in us and authorize the authority necessary to perform our duties.”

Because of professionalism and training, the ZPD has very few use of force incidents (none in 2020 and one in 2021).

This does not mean the department is

Capt. Marius Klykken

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ZIONSVILLE

What We’re Loving Right Now: Mulberry Fields Park Mulberry Fields Park (9645 Whitestown Road) is favorite among residents for year-round fun and play. With a splash pad, playground, shelters, basketball court, trail, natural prairie, open fields, sledding hill, restrooms and more, this park is a great destination for kids of all ages. In the summer kids cool off in a splash pad surrounded by the beauty of prairie grasses and wildflowers. A natural water feature made up of pebbles and large rocks resembles a creek for kids to stomp and splash around in. And in the winter, families sled down the giant sledding hill.

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erhaps what is most unique to the park is the skate park, one of the most well-known in the state. Mulberry Fields

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Skatepark was built by Grindline Skateparks and opened in the late 2000s.

Last summer several features in the skate park were replaced and repaired and the park was power

washed, painted and resealed.

Zionsville firefighter Matt Coyner frequents the skate park and recently shared his gratitude for this park and the meticulous maintenance of it. “Shout out to the team

at the Parks Department for the wonderful job they do maintaining and cleaning the park. Last evening there was a gathering of over 30 local skateboarders for an end of summer skateboarding session. It was a beautiful reminder of how valuable and special this space is to our community. I wanted to be sure to let you know how much the skateboarding community appreciates this space and how thankful we are that the community of Zionsville supports us.

Thank you.”

Now there is a new amen-

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PA R K S & R E C R E AT I O N

Mulberry Fields Park 9645 Whitestown Road August 1 - October 31, 2021 Download MAGICAL PARK for FREE AUGMENTED REALITY GAME FOR CHILDREN 6-11 YEARS OLD

COMPATIBILITY

Runs on iPhone 5+ & iPads 3+ and Android devices with Compass, Gyroscope, GPS & Accelerometer sensors.

Remove magnetic device cases!

INTERNET

Have access to mobile data or hotspot.

2MB data per game

GEOLOCATION Make sure your GPS is on and set to high accuracy (if available).

WATCH TUTORIALS

www.magicalpark.net

Zionsville Parks and Recreation www.zionsville-in.gov/parks recreation@zionsville-in.gov 317-733-2273

Magical Park—What You Need to Know How do I participate?

Visit Mulberry Fields Park (9645 Whitestown Road) and download the free Magical Park app. Head to the picnic shelter next to the large open sports field. Once at the shelter, the app will let you choose from eight games.

What do I need to know about the app?

The app uses GPS, so you need to have GPS and

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location turned on. You need cellular service to play or have a hotspot setup for a Wi-Fi device.

Will I need to be active to play?

The game encourages users to play, walk, run and be active in the great outdoors.

Those with limitations to play can use the “easy play” feature and walk. Two games allow those with vision

impairment to play by means of sound. To change the level, go into the game settings.

How long will Magical Park run?

The digital playground runs Aug. 1–Oct. 31, 2021.

Based on community feedback, the Zionsville Parks and Recreation Department will decide if Magical Park will return for all of 2022.

ZIONSVILLE

ity Zionsville residents and visitors can enjoy: a digital playground. Magical Park turns a normal park into a digital playground that encourages kids and families to explore a virtual world.

Magical Park is aimed for kids ages 6-11.

Visitors to the Mulberry Fields can download the free Magical Park app to interact and explore a fantasy world.

Herd kittens, run away from the bad fairy or come faceto-face with a giant T-Rex, all while using a smartphone or tablet. The game encourages users to play, walk, run and be active in the great outdoors. Those with limitations to play can use the “easy play” feature and walk.

Two games allow those with vision impairment to play by means of sound.

“We can’t reverse technology or progress, nor should we try,” said Director of Recreation Services Mindy Murdock. “What we can do is create healthy relationships with technology by using the screen to get kids outdoors and moving around. Using augmented reality is also an opportunity to reach the older kids in our community and motivate them to get out and use our parks.”

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Board/Committee/ Commission Spotlight:

Zionsville Community Enrichment Grant

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ZIONSVILLE

he Zionsville Community Enrichment Committee serves as the instrument for evaluating and awarding financial assistance to local community-serving organizations. This committee consists of five community members: three appointed by the Mayor and two appointed by the Town Council majority. Members serve for a one-year term and are eligible for term renewal.

This five-member advisory committee ensures that grant awards are consistent with the Town’s Code of Ordinances and are dispersed in a manner that is transparent and fair.

Launched in 2021, the Zionsville Community Enrichment Grant enhances the quality of life for residents, business owners and visitors to Zionsville.

Non-profit organizations that are located in Boone County and serve Zionsville residents and businesses are eligible to apply for a grant.

Grants are accepted on a rolling basis.

The next round of applications are due on August 30, 2021 (for an award date of September 30, 2021).

More information can be found at www.zionsville-in.gov/communitygrant.

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MEMBERS • • • • •

Scott Condes Lauren Hernandez-DeCrane Jennifer Cross Wendy Schrepferman Ed Thomas

Recent Accomplishments Last spring the Community Enrichment Grant Committee awarded the first grants since the program launched. Seven local non-profits were awarded grants with a total of $99,100 infused into the community.

The local non-profits that received funding were: Brick Street Poetry Inc. ($1,600 grant), Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library Foundation ($15,000 grant), Maplelawn Farmstead ($2,000 grant), SullivanMunce Cultural Center ($5,000 grant), Zionsville

Chamber of Commerce ($63,000 grant), Zionsville Farmers Market ($2,500 grant) and zWORKS ($10,000 grant).

Funding went toward a diverse mix of projects: public art, equipping the bookmobile, an irrigation line, the first two phases of an updated historic report, community-wide events, novel initiatives at the farmers market and investing in the economic engine of Zionsville.

Mayor Emily Styron said, “The Zionsville Community Enrichment Grant makes grant dollars accessible to local non-profits that serve to enhance the quality of life for residents, business owners and visitors to the Town of Zionsville. These grants will add capacity to organizations deeply rooted in our community to enable them to further their mission in our community.”

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